Underground metal fest surfaces

Ashes of A Martyr perform at the Gig on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. Randy Edwards/cat5

It’s time to pummel your ears with pure, unadulterated metal.

B.U.M.M. Fest is an all-day, 13-band metal onslaught created by the Beaumont Underground Metal Movement, a new collective of local metal bands. That’s right, people: Beaumont has metal.

I caught up with Jarrod Talbot (founder of B.U.M.M. Fest and vocalist for Ashes of a Martyr), Mike Hernandez (bassist for Eviscerate the Proletariat) and a few fellas from Avaris to talk metal.

What followed was a conversation tinged with what some may find to be unlikely words: family, community and Beethoven. Hernandez summed it up best.

“Metal is an emotion, a statement, a release,” he said. “It’s something you breathe, it’s something you feel, it’s something you live. Metal is a constant underdog that both embraces and despises the status.

“Much like the blues, metal is a total cathartic experience to both the performer as well as the listener. Most people can’t see past the screaming, the mosh pits, and the sheer volume. What they don’t realize is that metal-heads are truly some of the nicest people you can meet. Our underdog mentality creates some of the strongest brotherhoods imaginable.”

Aside form encompassing a variety of sub-genres (black metal, core metal, thrash metal, death metal and traditional metal, just to scratch the surface), local metal revolves around an underground community of artists and like-minded musicians who are in the business of making music. Loud music.

“Beaumont Underground Metal Music is really getting out there and showing (the community) that not all of us metal-heads are crazy hooligans that destroy anything and everything that crosses our path,” said Ryan Finnerty, guitar player for Avaris. “It’s showing the people that we can have a heart too, and we can bring you much entertainment if you just give us a chance. All we need is one.”

Nederland death metal band Avaris. Courtesy

But don’t come to B.U.M.M Fest expecting a hug and a high-five. What you’ll get is 13 metal bands from a wide variety of sub-genres ready to bring you, as Talbot describes, “everything from White Snake to the most brutal (expletive).”

Aside from providing metal-heads with ample thrash and death metal this weekend, “no one is profiting from this event,” Hernandez said.

“Half of all the money raised from ticket sales is going to the Children’s Miracle Network, and the other half is going into the B.U.M.M. account to benefit randomly selected local metal bands with merchandise and promotion,” Hernandez said.

“There’s not many genres of music outside of metal where you’ll find that kind of camaraderie.”